Lithium Power (LPI) is a pure-play lithium company with three distinct project regions. One in South America’s brine region and two in Western Australia’s hard-rock, providing diversity in both geography and geology.
The company’s primary focus is on the development of Chile’s next sustainable high-grade lithium mine. The Project is located within the ‘Lithium Triangle’ in northern Chile, home to the largest and highest quality lithium brine deposits.
Location: Atacama region, Chile.
Ownership: 100% owned by LPI
Status: Definitive Feasibility Study (‘DFS’) for the Stage One released 1Q22
Resources: 1,905,000 t lithium carbonate equivalent, 4,950,000 t KCl
Chile is expected soon to release a new lithium policy that LPI believes will be supportive of private developers and may also involve the option of partial State equity collaborations. Download the full announcement to learn more.
LPI is pleased to provide an English translation of two media reports in Chile in response to the initial release of the Chilean National Lithium Policy and the potential effect on the company’s Maricunga lithium brine project. Download the full announcement to learn more.
Lithium Power International Limited is pleased to provide an update on the recent vote in Chile over the weekend on the Chilean Constitution reform. Download the full announcement to learn more.
The Maricunga project lies adjacent to the Chile-Argentina Highway 31,170km northeast of Copiapo and 25km from the port of Caldera. A 23kV power line crosses the property and is connected to Chile’s 220kV power grid. It is a high-quality resource with high brine grades, high flow characteristics and high drainable porosity and permeability. The first brine sample produced in 2018, using Maricunga’s Pilot Evaporating Brine Pond, returned an indicated purity of 99.4%.
Since then, the Company has further advanced improvements to its production process design, yielding efficiency increases. The purity level of the Lithium Carbonate product is expected to be significantly higher compared to original samples produced in 2018. Such an outcome would allow the Company to reach a wider spectrum of customers with different quality requirements.
The Company has made important efforts to become the first Zero Emission lithium brine producer. That effort includes using electricity only produced by solar generators through long-term power purchase agreements; minimising water consumption in the production process design (self-producing through condensation recovery of more than 30 per cent of the water used); and strict protocols to ensure any negative environmental impact on the area provides an opportunity to set a higher standard for the whole industry.
Additionally, social aspects have been important to the Maricunga project, receiving open and ongoing support from both indigenous and civilian communities. These initiatives have been widely recognised by the Chilean authorities.
During Q2 2022, LPI announced that the Company has consolidated 100% ownership of the Maricunga Lithium Brine project in Chile (“Maricunga” or the “Project”) via two all-scrip mergers with its joint venture partners Minera Salar Blanco SpA (“MSB SpA”) and Bearing Lithium Corp (BRZ:TSXV) (“Bearing”) (together the “JV Partners”) (individually the “Transaction” or together the “Transactions”).
LPI believes that consolidating 100% ownership under LPI provides the optimal structure to oversee the rapid development of the Project by:
This positions the Company to aggressively pursue the rapid development of Maricunga. The transactions, together with LPI’s previously announced demerger of its WA lithium exploration assets (“WA Demerger”), will transform LPI into a focused developer of the wholly owned Maricunga Project.